One of the Hartford commercial realty market’s worst-kept secrets of to whom major Connecticut landlord Griffin Land & Nurseries recently sold for $16 million cash its 308,000-square-foot Manchester warehouse is no more.
In an 8-K filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Griffin confirmed its Jan. 31 sale of the property to an affiliate of furniture retailer Raymour & Flanigan, a five-year tenant in the building.
Griffin was adamant in refusing – citing privacy concerns — to name Raymour as the buyer, although local realty sources were certain it was Raymour & Flanigan when Griffin first aired the contract last October.
According to the SEC filing, Griffin booked a first-quarter pretax gain of about $3 million selling the building that it bought in 2006.
Sale proceeds are sitting in escrow, the filing said, while Griffin searches for a replacement property that qualifies as an IRS code Section 1031 like-kind exchange, a move aimed at deferring federal tax on the sale.
